1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transmission and/or reception device for mounting to a vehicle wheel, and also to a housing for such a device.
2. Related Art
Car manufacturers are tending to fit the wheels or tires of vehicles with devices that serve to provide information about the tires to a vehicle computer. Such devices include, for example, pressure sensors, temperature sensors, and devices for identifying tires. These tire information devices are coupled to transmission and/or reception devices.
It is known to make use of radio technology to enable the device to communicate with a computer. The same technology can also be used for transmitting energy to the device from a fixed point of the vehicle. To this end, a fixed antenna is provided on the vehicle. It is connected by electric cables to the computer and/or to an electrical power supply. The transmission and/or reception device associated with the tire information device is also connected to an antenna which is carried by the wheel or the tire.
Such communications technology raises the problem that the active area necessary for proper operation of the antenna requires the antenna to be rather large. Unfortunately, the transmission and/or reception device is generally integrated with the sensor in a common housing, which is miniaturized as much as possible, for reasons of weight and to avoid interfering with fitting the tire on the wheel. As a result, it is necessary to make use of an external antenna that is separate from the housing. This leads to several drawbacks relating to, for example, manufacturing costs, stock management, assembly difficulties, reliability, and overall weight.